Help - pram suggestions and pram vs carrier

LJ9982

Need some advice from the parents here - I am a first time soon to be Mum and I am starting to get lists together of stuff we need to buy (i like to be organised - still early days yet) and would like some advice.... with a baby due just as 'summer' kicks off, i was thinking of worrying less about getting an all singing/all dancing pram/travel system and going for getting a carrier. Has anyone used a carrier and found it easier than lugging a pram about? Anyone found it too warm/sticky doing that for you/baby? Things like shopping etc will be done by car so i will only ever go out for the occasional bits and prefer the idea of a carrier.... obviously we will have a buggy/pram but was thinking of maybe going for something less expensive as the advice i've been seeing around a lot is 'they are never in them long'.... also has anyone got any advice ref a decent pram/buggy that is lightweight/easy to fold/doesn't cost the earth? I have been told the Obaby Zezu is good and goes from birth upwards from pram to stroller..... also had Graco Symbio suggested and Babystyle Oyster HELP!!

Thanks in advance

littlemisssunshinee

Hello - depending where you are there may be a sling library near you, where you could go along & try out carriers & get more advice about them. In my experience having had a clingy baby I could have done without the buggy most of the time but not the carrier. I used it all the time - shopping, walks out, doing the housework while little one slept.

Pram / buggywise - I would recommend visiting a shop to get an idea of what the options are. Don't get carried away - the first time we looked we were almost sold on the bugaboo due to its all terrain ability - beach, snow etc. Then we worked out for the couple of times we'd need to use it on the beach we could cope pulling the normal one on 2 wheels!!

LJ9982

Unfortunately there aren't any sling libraries near me

building_with_lego

I wouldn't have been without my Ergo. I carried our son until he was 21 months and wanted to walk everywhere; at that point we got the cheap buggy out of storage and used that when he was too tired.

Re. the sling being too sticky in hot weather: DS was an August baby in a hot summer. Because he was in such close contact with me my cooling mechanism (well, sweat!) cooled us both down; in the same way we kept each other warm in the winter. I just wish I'd known about them when my eldest was born. Oh, and I bought it for £60 and sold it for £65...

hawk30

If you go for a carrier/wrap, I would recommend getting it nearer the time, so if you find that your LO doesn't like it (mine hated it) you can take it back.

sooty&sweep

Hi

We are within walking distance of a small town centre so we had a proper pram/pushchair that we used for walking away from the house but we also had a smaller pushchair to go in the back of the car.

However both options provided a good place to allow the little one to sleep. I had the pram in the hallway and I put both of my two to sleep in there during the day. When mine were little we were advised not to keep them in their carseats for too long as they needed to lie flat.

I did use a carrier on ocassion & they are great if its not easy to access with a pushchair.

GracieP

I'm pretty much what people would call an 'attachment parent' but I use my buggy all the time. I use carriers too but I couldn't be without my buggy/pram. You don't have to spend a fortune though. I got an all terrain (I have springer spaniels) buggy with carrycot attachment for €100 secondhand, a stretchwrap for the newborn stage and a ringsling for later for €20 each secondhand. I got an Ergo carrier from a verified seller in Germany (I didn't get this secondhand as I wanted to be sure it was authentic) for €80, incl delivery. A small pouch sling that I keep with the buggy for €11 - it came with a free pair of baby-legs as his pants ride up in a sling. My big spend was on the car seat as I got a 0-18kg rear facing seat for €300. It was the cheapest at the time but I believe there are cheaper extended rear facing seats on the market now.

So I spent less on all of our 'transport items' than a lot of people do on just the buggy but I got everything I wanted and covered all bases.

fluffnutter

You mean a sling? Slings are great but they're not a substitute for a pram. You need both. Are you on facebook? Search for babywearing and see if there's anything in your local area where you can try slings on. Even if nothing local I know for certain there are a few babywearing groups where you can get advice.

Sequeena

For a sling I'd suggest starting off with a stretchy moby - bought nearer the time as said so you can see how you get on with it. Once baby is out of that you could go for a woven carrier or move onto an ergo, mei tai, ring sling etc. depending on how you feel. Babywearing FSOT on facebook (I believe that's the name or it's a variation of it) is a very large group with lots of different mums so you can get lots of advice on there.

As for a pram it depends on what you need it for. Do you drive or use transport? Do you live in a rural area or a city? These things depend on the size of pram you buy, how big the wheels are etc.

With my son I used a Graco Symbio B (I did wear for a while but suffer with sciatica). You have the option of using it with a carseat or carry cot then when baby grows you can use the toddler seat. The upside of this pram is that it parent or forward faces. The downside is the basket is small and it's not a one handed fold. You take the seat/carseat/carry cot off then fold. Wonderful to push though, great brakes (it's like bicycle break and is on the handle rather than the wheels). I got it for £250 in toys r us in march 2011.

We're moving onto the m&p frankie now which is a buggy. It's taken a long time of looking but you don't need to worry about that yet.

Make sure you try and test lots of prams. Don't automatically go for the prettiest one as you will more than likely buy several until you finally find the one that's right for you and baby.

Congratulations

Saffagal

My LO is 7 months old now, and I didn't have a pram at all. I have recently (a month ago) got a very simple buggy. In the first couple months I used a stretchy wrap and this was brilliant as meant I could keep her close/feed her/let her sleep whilst I still got on and did things. As she got a little bigger I moved onto a Babasling and from three months have used a sling similar to an Ergo (different make but almost identical design) which I love! My preference is definitely to babywear as it means my hands are completely free. I tried a structured carrier too but LO hated it.

fluffnutter

I've got an uppababy vista. Has a carry cot and a pushchair, the pushchair can face both forwards and backwards, and is compatible with maxi cosi infant carrier car seats. People get a bit funny about travel systems - think they're some silly modern affectation - but I found it a life saver to be able to just plonk the car seat on the pram base rather than get the baby in and out of both car seat and pram.

TBH, OP, if you ask for recommendations for stuff you'll get a billion answers! Read some reviews, go to a few shops and ask for demonstrations - Mothercare and John Lewis are good.